Below you will find information on Fans and Veil Fans as used in Belly Dance.

Dancing with fans is not traditional in Middle Eastern dances and

certainly has never been part of traditional Raqs Sharqi but it has

existed in other cultures for centuries. Fan dances emerged in China

and Japan as early as 1000 B.C.E. and have since spread to many

eastern Asian countries. Some interesting variations have developed

from the Asian fan dances such as the Chinese combination of ribbon

dancing and fan dancing which brought the Mulan Fan into use. The

Mulan Fan is a silk fan with a tail, which created what we now often refer

to as a fan veil or veil fan. Most Asian dances utilize a more traditional

folding style fan which is often used as a group. The groups then

perform together using the fans to create imagery and/or evoke a sense

of grace and lightness. The traditional Korean fan dance (Buchaechum)

has dancers that create group patterns representing birds, flowers,

butterflies and even rolling waves. Traditional Vietnamese fan dance

(vũ phiến) on the other hand focus more on graceful manipulation of

the wrist to open and close the fans, create delicate push/pull

movements between the dancers two fans and small quick fluttering of

the fan.

Folding fans spread from Asia to Europe around the where fans were

imported for the upper class. Eventually they became common

items in the European culture and dancing with them was common in

European courts. European court dances mostly featured occasional

fluttering in front of one’s face as a mark of modesty and coy

flirtation. It did however become a part of Flamenco dances, which

developed among the Rom of post Andalusian Spain around 1500

C.E. Flamenco fans often made of lace or trimmed with lace are used

to a dramatic effect in Flamenco dance as they are crisply snapped

open and used as an extension of the arm to frame and emphasize the

movement of the dancer.

In the Americas, fan dancing developed much later around 1930 C.E.

by dancer Sally Rand. Sally Rand began dancing with oversized

ostrich feather fans while wearing a flesh toned body suit. Her dance

consisted of a conceal and reveal format in which she twisted and

twirled two fans around her body so that the audience was always in

anticipation of catching a glimpse of her underneath. Sally Rand

performed on the Burlesque circuit and continued performing until

1972 just years before she died at age 75.

Modern bellydancers have used all of these fans and more. They

combine traditional fan dances with modern bellydance. They were

probably first introduced as a part of Gypsy/Flamenco fusion pieces

featuring Flamenco style fans or as a fusion of Burlesque Sally Rand

style fans and bellydance. Bellydance itself had a long run in burlesque

and vaudeville circuits as the “hootchie kootchie”. Veil Fans with their

long veil tail and other traditional Asian style fan work is a much newer

fusion gaining popularity since the 1990s. Since the fans are used as

fusion there are no hard and fast rules and dancers draw on inspiration

from any, and all styles to create their dances.

Fan veils are utilized in a way that combines traditional American style

veil work with traditional Chinese Mulan fan work within a bellydance

context. It utilizes movements that are similar to veil, double veil, and Isis wings. The dancer often will spin around so the veils fly around the body and barrel/airplane turns are commonly used. Many traditional veil moves can be adapted for Fan veils. Dancers utilizing the typical Sally Rand fan usually follow her format of conceal and reveal although they feature more and longer periods of reveal to show of hip work and of course their fabulous costuming. Dancers utilizing the folding fans or smaller feather fans tend to use them more like Flamenco or Asian dancers showing graceful movements and /or quick manipulations of the wrist, twirling and swing the fan(s) around themselves. Quick flittering movements are sometimes used to accentuate shimmies and fans are often used to cover the lower portion of the face for a dramatic effect or for a coy flirtatious feel. The only other common use, which is by far the newest addition, is the fire fan, which is a metal fan framework with no fabric. It looks almost like a fan skeleton. On the ends of each spoke is a torch which is lit on fire. Fire fans combine movements from Fire dancing and traditional Asian dances. When used by belly dancers it is combined with Middle Eastern movement vocabularies. Fire fans are the most dangerous fan to use as a prop and movements used with them tend to stay further away from the body. They feature more spinning, twirling, and wider dramatic sweeping motions. These are most common among tribal style fusion dancers but have started to become more popular among even American Nightclub/Cabaret style dancers especially those who do fusion. To see a few examples of Bellydance fan fusions watch the videos below: